Chapter 2. He took her away

Paolo takes a drag on his cigarette and then blows the smoke around him, narrowing his eyes slightly as he picks up his glass to take a sip of the amber liquid.

"And I thought you weren't coming," Alexandro smiles as he looks at his boss beside him.

"I'm not here to please you, I just want to clear my mind of this damn job."

"I know, I know, and that's why I always reserve the best seats for you here."

The brown-haired man looks out over the club at his feet. From the VIP area, he can see everyone else in the place. Suddenly, his gaze shifts to one side as he notices a group of women coming up the stairs.

He immediately frowns when he notices that they are heading towards his table.

"Girls! What a pleasant surprise to see you here tonight.

"Alexandro," they all greet him with big smiles, and immediately two of them sit on his lap. "We're glad to see you here. Who did you come with tonight?"

The group of women look at Paolo, who is submerged in the shadows. The girls move a little closer to him, at which point the CEO looks up and the young women immediately back away.

"Oh!" some of them say in unison.

"Girls, girls, be nice..." Alexandro smiles broadly.

Paolo clenches his jaw when he realizes that Alexandro's intentions were to involve him with some of those women. The CEO turns his face away, but just then Paolo's gray eyes fix on one person.

He blinks several times as he keeps his gaze fixed on the young woman standing at the bar downstairs.

"Girls, my friend Pao..." But the CEO doesn't let him speak, as he has already stood up without saying a word.

[...]

Mina looks at the blue drink suspiciously, biting her lip slightly as she takes it in her trembling hands.

"Are you going to stare at it all night or are you going to drink it?" Claudia looks at her friend with a mocking smile on her lips. "It's just a drink, drink it, Mina.

"Why is it this color, Claudia?" The brown-haired girl looks at her friend, searching for an answer in her eyes.

"Are you going to drink it or what?"

"Okay..." She widens her eyes and then looks at the tiny glass.

She licks her lips as she brings it to her mouth, half-wets her mouth with the blue liquid, and immediately frowns.

"Damn it, Claudia, what the hell is this?" With her mouth pursed and half open, her friend takes the opportunity to raise the glass to her mouth and pour the liquid down her throat.

"Swallow!

Mina swallows the liquid even though she feels like throwing it all up, but finally drinks it.

"Damn it, Claudia, you're stupid. Why did you do that?" She wipes her lips with the back of her hand. "That's pretty disgusting."

"You'll like it, it's just the first time," Mina watches as her friend quickly drinks her shot without frowning.

"You're crazy! I'm not drinking any more of that."

"It's the best drink they serve here."

The brunette shakes her head, feeling her throat burn and her tongue go completely numb. Her body bristles as she shivers. The music was very loud and the bustle of the crowd was a little disconcerting.

But was that what was unsettling her?

She frowns slightly and begins to blink several times.

"Claudia..." she calls out to her friend.

"You need another one, girl. It's necessary to counteract what's happening to you."

"What's happening to me?"

"It's part of the fun, Mina. Don't be such a coward and enjoy your adulthood a little."

"Claudia."

She shakes her head as she watches the bartender pour a new drink. She watches as the young man mixes the liquids from two bottles, creating a blue color, and finally adds a tiny pill that she sees begin to dissolve.

"Are you drugging me?" she says in a slurred voice.

"They're not drugs, silly," her friend laughs, taking the glass and bringing it to her lips. "You have to drink this, and then the effects will wear off."

"Effects?"

But her friend was already putting the glass to her lips and forcing her to drink it. Mina swallows the contents, feeling like it's burning her up inside. She manages to spit some out, but her friend puts a napkin to her lips.

"Come on, girl, you can get through this test."

"Clau..."

Mina shook her head as she opened and closed her eyes, seeing everything in bright colors. It was as if a rainbow had entered the room. Without a doubt, that drink was too strong for her.

"I don't want any more of that..."

"Of course not, you have to wait for the drinks to take effect."

She closed her eyes, and that's when everything went black. Suddenly, she no longer felt dizzy, and when she opened her eyes, she saw the bartender smiling at her. She turned her face and looked at her friend, who raised her eyebrows.

"So, what do you think?

"I want to dance."

"That's what I thought."

They both get up and walk toward the dance floor, excited to start dancing. Mina doesn't understand anything that's happening to her; the only thing she can think about is that she wants to dance.

The young woman smiles as she spins around and around, watching the neon lights on the ceiling. She closes her eyes and continues to smile openly.

"It's good, isn't it?" Mina hears her friend's voice, but ignores it.

Paolo stares at the brunette who started dancing with the young woman he had come to the club with. He looks at her outfit and frowns. That sequined dress looked pretty good on her.

He didn't understand his reaction to that girl, since women at the club never caught his attention. He frowns as he takes a sip from his glass. Then he licks his lips as he watches the woman's figure.

She was a beautiful brunette with voluptuous legs and breasts. Her narrow waist and wide hips could make a man kneel at her feet. Paolo lights a cigarette and exhales smoke while continuing to watch her from a safe distance.

Meanwhile, Mina smiles and dances as if no one else were around her...

"Mina, Mina!" her friend calls her attention, and that's when she reacts and looks at her with wide eyes.

"What do you want? Why are you so annoying?"

"I have to take you to the bathroom. I don't think you were ready for a second drink."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Claudia pulls her friend toward the bathroom and they both lock themselves in. The brunette takes her friend to the sink to splash water on her face and try to wake her up a little.

"What the hell are you doing, stupid?" she pushes her friend away as she tries to dry her face.

"We can't go to your house like this, you'll wake up your parents."

"Don't be silly, who the hell wants to go home?" She smiles broadly, pretending to leave the bathroom, but her friend stops her.

"Enough, I'm so sorry, I didn't think you'd dislike this drink so much."

The brunette didn't know what to do. Her friend was already very drunk, and the way things were going, she could get her into a lot of trouble if she didn't manage to sober her up.

"What the hell did you give me to drink, Claudia?" The brunette looks up when she sees her friend grimacing.

"Oh, yes! You're coming to your senses. You need to wet your face more to react." Claudia holds her to bring her closer to the sink and soak her face, but her friend resists.

"Let go of me, you damn bitch. You drugged me, and now I... my head!

"Mina..."

Claudia tries to grab her, but she breaks free abruptly. She's out of control, and that worries Claudia greatly. Mina staggers from side to side until she vomits on the floor and her friend's feet.

"Damn it, Mina... you threw up on me!"

The brunette starts shaking her shoes, then runs to the sink and starts cleaning herself, feeling like she also really wants to vomit.

"Damn it, we're not going to be able to get into your house without your parents noticing. Shit, they'll send you to a damn convent, Mina," she exclaims in horror as she cleans her shoes.

But out of nowhere, the brunette hears no complaints or sobs, forcing her to turn her gaze.

"Mina? Mina, where are you?"

[...]

The brown-haired girl came out of the bathroom feeling a little better, but the effects of the strange drinks she had consumed were still affecting her sanity, forcing her to smile as if she had lost her mind.

When she reached the platform, Mina felt someone wrap their arms around her waist and squeeze her body tightly. She frowned as she looked at the strange man in front of her.

"Hello, beautiful, shall we dance?"

"No, I don't want to," she pushed the guy away, but he clung to her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist.

"But you're a bitch, how come you don't want to? Everyone wants to in this place."

The guy pretends to kiss her, but Mina defends herself and tries to push him away. However, it's impossible because he's stronger and bigger than her, and she's too dizzy to think straight.

However, out of nowhere, someone pulls the guy off her, freeing her from his clutches. The brunette is surprised to see the stranger standing far away from her.

"She said no, or don't you understand?" She looks at the back of a man who was standing between her and the abuser.

"And who the hell are you? Are you her owner? All the girls who come here are whores looking for sex."

Paolo clenches his jaw when he hears that bastard talk like that. Even though everything he said was true, it pissed him off that he would speak so repulsively about the girl who had caught his attention.

Without thinking twice, the CEO punches the idiot right in the nose, knocking him to the ground and causing a commotion among everyone around him.

"Damn bastard," he says, touching his bloody nose.

Mina watches the commotion and begins to back away, blinking several times when she sees the man with his nose smashed in. Suddenly, the man who rescued her turns around, and she sees his face for the first time.

She looks into those gray eyes and penetrating gaze and feels her heart pounding in her chest. She notices him approaching her with that somber look that makes her swallow hard.

"I'm sorry..." she says with a stutter, even though she doesn't know why she's apologizing.

Mina looks down at the lips of this huge man and ends up licking her lips. She feels quite strange, to tell the truth, as if her whole body were boiling. She has never experienced anything like this before.

"Come," Paolo says, holding out his hand while remaining serious.

"You miserable piece of shit, how dare you hit me in the face," the guy behind him stands up and puts a hand on his shoulder.

Paolo gets even angrier than he already was and ends up grabbing the guy's hand and throwing him away against everyone who was dancing on the dance floor. He quickly approaches the brown-haired girl, who seems disoriented, takes her by the hand, and drags her away.

Mina didn't understand what was happening when that man pulled her away. She could only see the back of his head as her own head spun.

When they went outside, the cold night breeze hit the brunette's face and thighs, causing her to stop dead in her tracks and let go of the stranger's hand.